The question of proper transportation of a newborn arises for most parents already on the 4th day of the child’s life, because in order to deliver him and his mother home from the maternity hospital, transportation is often required.
Newborn in a shell
According to the Traffic Rules, children under 7 years of age, including newborns, must be transported in a car using a special restraint device that ensures the safety of the small passenger.
Why you can't carry your baby in your arms
Not long ago, the traffic rules lacked a description of the correct transportation of children. It was customary for the child to sit on the lap of an adult accompanying person; this was enough. Therefore, today a completely logical question arises about whether it is possible to transport an infant in a car in your arms. Especially when a trip is necessary to move a newborn from the hospital to home.
Swaddling a newborn
Parents often think that the baby is still small and sits in a chair too early. The decision to carry the baby in arms is mistakenly made. Previously, this was possible because the traffic load on the roads was not the same as it is today. In addition, the car is officially recognized as the most dangerous form of transport. The lion's share of the number of accidents is caused by cars.
A woman, thinking that she will hold the baby in the event of a collision, is very mistaken. The weight of a newborn is really small, and one would think that an adult would be able to cope with securing a child during sudden braking. However, several factors will not give a single chance to cope with ensuring the safety of a baby carried in arms:
- The force with which inertia will tear the child out of the mother’s arms is equal to the product of his weight and the speed of the car. That is, a 3-kg baby in a car moving at 60 km/h will move from his hands towards the windshield with a force equal to 180 Newtons. Holding a baby in this situation is more difficult than lifting a load weighing 100 kg.
- An emergency situation always comes suddenly, it is impossible to prepare for it and grab onto the child more tightly. The surprise factor plays a decisive role.
- At the moment of emergency braking or a sharp stop, the adult himself may be injured and become unable to ensure the safety of the baby.
Important! Only technically sophisticated equipment can save the life and health of a child in an accident.
Variety of chairs
Rules for transporting newborn children in a car
A newborn is considered a child in the first month of his life. After this comes the period of breastfeeding, which usually lasts up to a year.
For children in this category, special restraint systems have been developed - infant carriers equipped with special seat belts and fastenings that hold the system in place.
Increased attention is due to the lack of strength of the body, fragility of the joints, and weakness of the muscular system.
A stressful state is also important when everything around is new for the child, and sudden shocks can, if not injure, then frighten. Even additional wrapping in bulky blankets cannot protect against this.
Rules for transporting infants:
- Protect the car interior from drafts, remove fragrance devices, and do not smoke.
- Turn off the air conditioner.
- Think about your baby's nutrition.
- Ensure silence.
- Avoid traveling with animals at the same time.
- If the trip is planned in winter, the car should be warmed up to 20 0C before boarding the baby.
- The driver must drive slowly, without sudden maneuvers or braking.
- It is useful to stick a special warning sign that there is a small child in the cabin.
- As the child grows older, toys should be used that occupy attention while moving. It is useful to talk, changing intonation, look out the window, but at the same time, without distracting the driver.
- During long trips, it is necessary to make stops and give the opportunity to rest from the trip.
- Consider where your baby will be looking with his head:
- the cradle is located close to the rear passenger seat, but in the opposite direction compared to a child seat or head in the opposite direction of movement of the vehicle;
- near the driver, the location should be similar to the previous option, but with the airbag turned off.
Important! You cannot hold a baby in your arms. In order to preserve life and health, rules have been introduced requiring children to be transported in special restraints.
It should be remembered that when braking sharply, according to the law of inertia, a person can fly through the windshield or be seriously injured. In this case, the weight increases many times over, which is beyond the power of a person holding a child in his arms.
Is transportation allowed in any vehicles?
Modern parents are ready to travel long distances from the first days after discharge. Today, service in roadside hotels, trains and planes only contributes to this. Almost every gas station located along the highways has a full-fledged mother and child room where you can carry out hygiene procedures, change clothes and swaddle the baby.
Newborn head size
The train is convenient when the whole family buys a compartment and travels without others. When purchasing a ticket, it is important to consider whether the carriage has air conditioning when the trip is planned in the summer. For medical reasons, there are no age restrictions for traveling by car or train. You can travel with your newborn on this transport without fear for his condition.
Airplanes are contraindicated for children under 14 days of age. The danger lies in the imperfection of the child’s body. The rapidly changing pressure during takeoff and landing can be very dangerous for a newborn. It is safest to fly after your baby is one month old.
Attention! The danger of traveling by public transport also lies in the fact that a newborn ends up in a small enclosed space with strangers who can be carriers of contagious infectious diseases for which the baby has not yet been vaccinated.
Common Mistakes
The most common mistake parents make is incorrect installation of child restraints intended for transporting newborns and children up to 13 kg. The design of devices in this category assumes a reclining position for the baby. This half-bent position of the back is very necessary so that the load during sudden braking is evenly distributed along the spine and not concentrated on the cervical region.
That is why shell cradles must be installed against the direction of travel of the vehicle. That is, the child should sit backwards, not facing forward. In this case, you should pay attention to the device label. It contains very important information that when placing a shell on the front seat, it is necessary to turn off the airbag, since its impact on the back of the car seat is traumatic for the child.
Classification of child car seats
Children's car seats differ depending on the design and method of attachment. Here are the main types that can be found on the market today.
Let us repeat that the design should be chosen depending on the age of the child. Now on the Internet there are many different offers for chairs from manufacturers from different countries. It is important, of course, not to make a mistake in choosing.
Newborns up to one year weighing up to 10 kg
How to transport a newborn in a car according to traffic police rules?
The smallest ones should be transported in a cradle. A child under 1 year old lies in it and is fastened with a special belt. From a safety point of view, the cradle is placed in the back seat of the car. It is important that the child should be positioned sideways in the direction of travel.
There is another point of view, which suggests that the chair does not have a negative effect on the development of the baby’s skeleton. Therefore, it is preferable to use it.
Newborns and babies up to one and a half years weighing up to 13 kg
How to transport a 3 month old baby in a car?
As an alternative to a car seat, you can use a specially designed seat. It increases orthopedic protection for the small passenger. In addition, there is a special belt system that increases the safety of children.
In this case, the child should be in a seat facing the direction of movement. Therefore, you should think about the fastening system in advance.
Children from nine months to four years weighing 9-18 kg
For them, car seats can be completely safely installed in the front seat of the car. They have five harness locations and an adjustable backrest.
Safety experts recommend installing a similar restraint device in the rear seat behind the driver. It is believed that this will reduce the risk for the child in the event of a possible accident.
Children from three to seven years old weighing 15-25 kg
In them, the child is positioned in the direction of movement. In addition to the seat systems, the child is fastened with a vehicle seat belt. Likewise, the chair has an adjustable backrest.
The design of the chair should be selected not only taking into account the height and weight of the child, but also his height. After all, children grow very quickly during this period of time.
Children from six to twelve years old weighing 22-36 kg
The car seat is secured with a seat belt. The lower part of the chair can then be separated and used independently.
This type of device is called a booster. It provides a support to ensure that the child is secured to the seat comfortably and properly.
The booster does not have armrests or additional orthopedic systems. Therefore, it is used for older children.
How to transport a baby from the maternity hospital in a car
Every responsible parent should think about how to transport a newborn in a car even before he is born. The smartest thing to do is to choose a suitable car seat together with your wife, so that later there will be no disputes about the color or pattern on the product.
Important! The newborn cannot take a sitting position. Until 7 months, it is not safe for a baby to keep his back in an upright position for a long time. Therefore, from birth to 7-8 months, the child can only be transported in a lying position.
To ensure safety and eliminate vertical load on the spine, babies up to 7-8 months old should be transported in a shell cradle. Its design is designed in such a way that the child sits reclining in it, securely secured with seat belts.
Child restraint groups by weight
What should you wear when transporting a newborn in a car? So, we have smoothly approached how to choose a car seat?
There are as many as five groups of special devices, which are selected depending on the age and weight of the child, as well as the technical possibility of mounting them in the car.
For infants, a cradle for newborns is used. This type of device is intended for babies under six months of age. In this case, the child’s weight should not exceed 10 kilograms.
According to standards, a cradle with a child should be installed sideways in the direction of travel of the car. The cradle can be easily removed and taken home with the newborn.
For children under one year old, chairs are also allowed. They are included in the second type of restraint devices.
Children under the age of one year can be transported in such seats. The child's weight limit is 13 kilograms; in this chair, the baby is positioned facing rearward. Therefore, usually a special device is mounted on the back of the front seat or on a certain part of the rear.
The third group also includes car seats, but they are already designed for older children. The device is intended for transporting children aged from up to 9 months and up to 4 years. In this case, the child’s weight should be between 9 and 18 kilograms.
The two remaining groups include not only car seats, but also boosters. The maximum weight limit here is 36 kilograms.
The most suitable chair for a newborn
Today on the market you can find three types of devices in which infants can ride:
- shell cradle designed for weights up to 13 kg;
- a transformable chair that adjusts to the weight and age of the child, ranging from 0 months to 7 years;
- removable cradle from the stroller.
Transporting a one-month-old baby in a stroller can be one of the most inconvenient devices, only because when installed in a car it takes up two passenger seats.
Stroller cradle
A transforming chair may turn out to be the most rational choice, because although this is a significant financial investment, it is a one-time one. Parents will not have to change the car seat when the child reaches a certain weight or age. In addition, such models have side protection, which users call chair ears. They are able to protect the child in a side collision.
Dali belt
So, what's new for drivers who transport children? Now children under seven years old can only be transported in child seats. There are no alternatives, no substitutes provided.
That is, a pillow or a volume of the Soviet encyclopedia placed under a child’s bottom will not pass. As for children over 7 years old, it’s a completely different story.
They can, and better, be transported in child seats that are appropriate for the child’s weight and height. But you can transport it without this device, fastening it with a standard seat belt. But not in the front seat.
It is prohibited to transport children under 12 years of age in the front seat without a child restraint system. These youngsters are also prohibited from being transported on the back of a motorcycle.
That is, you can transport a child over 7 years old in the back seat without a child seat or booster. The main thing is that he wears a standard seat belt.
It must be said that the new amendments to the Traffic Rules do not impose any requirements for the height or weight of the child. And this was originally planned.
That is, the talk was about allowing children whose height is more than 150 cm to ride without seats. After all, there are simply no chairs for taller people.
The new amendments also prohibit leaving children under 7 years old in a car without an adult. It would seem, what sane person would have the sense to leave a child in the car? However, such “smart” people are quite common. There are cases when children simply suffocated in a car parked in the sun. There are a huge number of cases where a car and a child were towed to a parking lot. And in this situation, the fault of the evacuation services is not always obvious. After all, car windows are often tinted. Who and what is inside is not visible.
Here the question inevitably arises for the parent: why did you leave the child in an illegally parked car?
By the way, this violation fully falls under Part 1 of Article 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. In accordance with it, the driver can either be reprimanded, in other words, a warning can be issued. Or be punished with a fine of 500 rubles. The draft also slightly changes the wording of the horizontal markings. That is, the one that is applied directly to the asphalt. There will be no surprises for drivers in this matter.
The wording is simply brought into line with the current GOST.
It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had the opportunity to amend the Traffic Rules, which would prohibit crossing markings 1.16.1, 1.16.2 and 1.16.3, the so-called “guide islands”.
However, this was not done. According to our sources in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is necessary to coordinate the Rules with GOST. Therefore, no one is still prohibiting crossing these islands and parking on them. Illegally issued fines can be appealed.
The amendments will come into force in 7 days, that is, on July 12.
Competently
Natalia Agre, president of the expert:
— Legislative amendments allowing children over the age of seven to be transported in a car without a car seat - using only standard seat belts - are not a reason to abandon child restraint devices.
Despite the fact that the government makes it possible to transport a child with only a seat belt, I would like to point out that such a relaxation is made only for children who cannot fit into car seats due to their height (above 150 cm) or weight (more than 36 kg).
The new amendments also prohibit leaving children under 7 years of age in a car without an adult.
For others, the choice should be clear - only child car seats selected according to the child’s height and weight. A high-quality child car seat can reduce the severity of consequences in an accident by 2-3 times. According to research by VTsIOM and expert data, today it is the most popular restraint device when transporting children under 12 years of age in their own car.
Particular attention must be paid to the quality of the car seat itself, since today the market is overflowing with counterfeit products.
The next step towards improving the safety of children in the car should be to put in order the certification system for such vital devices.
Today, when the issue of demography is one of the first places in government policy, it is necessary to increase the level of parental literacy regarding the safety of children. And increasing knowledge in the field of safe transportation is only one component of this important process.
How to choose the right car seat
Before you start choosing a restraint system for your newborn, you should find out what type of mounts your car has. There are three types:
- isofix;
- latch;
- standard seat belts.
Additional Information ! Seats secured with standard seat belts often have an additional type of latch fastening.
When choosing a chair, you should also think about what kind of stroller your child will have. If parents choose 3-in-1 models, they will not have to buy an additional car seat, since it will already be purchased along with the stroller.
Features of a car seat for transporting a baby
The advantage of the car seat is its mobility - if the baby falls asleep on the road and the journey has come to an end, the shell can be easily unfastened from the fastenings in order to move the sleeping passenger wherever needed.
How to choose the safest bassinet
The safety of a device is determined not by price, but by the certificate of conformity of the Single European Standard. Models that successfully pass crash tests are entitled to have the “ECE R 44/04” symbols on each product tag. This is a marking indicating the compliance of the device’s safety level with the European standard, edition 2019-2020.
Transporting a newborn in a cradle from a stroller
Not every mother, having a removable cradle near the stroller, knows how to conveniently transport her newborn in a car according to the rules with its help. When transporting a newborn to another city, this is especially convenient, because the baby has the opportunity to lie in a flat cradle, like in a crib, the entire trip.
Additional Information! The disadvantage of stroller bassinets is the lack of straps securing the baby to the device.
Which device is more suitable for delivering a baby from the maternity hospital?
Various manufacturers offer means for transporting children that include additional options. The most popular models allow them to be used for different ages.
Universal types do not require periodic replacement of the entire device, which will be cheaper. When buying such a chair, you should make sure that it is also intended for newborns.
The article will tell you about the patent for passenger transportation: Patent for passenger transportation. Read about the rules for organized transportation of a group of children by bus here.
In this case, it will be an excellent gift for new parents immediately upon discharge from the hospital. When developing systems for transporting children, many well-known and reputable companies perform crash tests.
Knowing their results will allow you to make your choice. If the quality certificate is marked ECE or ISO, then it meets the requirements of European countries and Russia, as can be seen in the photo.
Some types of car seats are also designed for transporting newborns, when the child is placed reclining with his back to the direction of travel. From a crash test point of view, they will be safer than a bassinet.
In the latter, it will be more comfortable for the child to sit in a horizontal position and breathe easier than in a chair. The downside is that it takes up a lot of space.
To decide on the choice of car seat, pay attention to the following points:
- It is better to buy a more spacious seat, then in winter there will be more space in it.
- It is useful to have:
- armrests;
- orthopedic back;
- footrests;
- table
- The material should not fade or emit unpleasant odors.
- Removable covers will not create problems with maintenance.
Table 1. Correspondence of seats of different weight categories and features of securing children under one year old.
| Car seat group | Child's weight (kg) | Age | Device Features |
| 0 | 0-10 | From birth to six months | To hold the baby in a lying position, a special wide belt is used that passes through the baby's stomach. When the chair is used in folded form, the newborn is held in place by the three-point belt of the chair. The seat should be positioned sideways to the vehicle. |
| 0+ | 0-13 | From birth to one year | The child is secured in a semi-lying position with internal five-point harnesses. The device can be installed facing the rear of the car, which will help support the baby’s neck during sudden braking. |
Tips for transporting a baby in winter
In winter, the traffic police recommends removing thick outer clothing from children before fastening them with seat belts. There are even plans for a system of fines regulating the thickness of the layer of clothing that can be between the child’s body and the belt. Having a jacket makes the functionality of the belts much more difficult.
To prevent your baby from getting cold, you should warm up the interior in advance. In winter, the car also needs to warm up the engine. Therefore, 10-15 minutes before the child appears in the cabin, you need to start the car, turn on the heater, choosing the direction of air flow into the cabin.
Newborn in the front seat
Interesting! In the summer, the same procedure for preparing vehicles for transporting children should be carried out, changing the inclusion of the stove to the air conditioner. Overheating due to being in a hot cabin is very dangerous for a child’s health.
When preparing things for the maternity hospital, it is better to take care in advance of choosing a car seat in the case when the delivery of mother and baby home will be carried out using a car. If the superstitions of the parents do not allow this, then the mother, when compiling a list of necessary purchases for the father, must indicate that the discharge envelope must have a special hole for the seat belt. It makes more sense to calmly and without haste together figure out which model will guarantee the safety of a newborn on the road.
Transporting children legally
When transporting infants in a vehicle, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the applicable laws. This is because the driver has obligations for the safety of newborns. The vehicle must be prepared for movement. Traffic rules precisely define and describe the rules.
Transportation is possible only in the passenger compartment of a passenger vehicle or the cab of a truck. Transportation in other cars and motorcycles is prohibited.
By law, it is prohibited to carry a child in your arms. If an accident occurs, body weight increases significantly, so even strong people are not able to hold it, which is dangerous for health and life.
For incorrect transportation, a fine is imposed by law, and the absence of fastening in the car does not relieve liability. Incorrect transportation is considered not only the absence of a cradle or chair, but also its incorrect location.
